Collins Writes to USDA About Avian Flu

9th District U.S. Representative Doug Collins is writing the U.S. Department of Agriculture about the threat of avian influenza.

This week, Collins sent a letter to U.S. Department of Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack asking that the USDA ensure all viable options are available to state, local, and industry stakeholders to prevent the spread of bird flu if highly pathogenic avian influenza hits Georgia.

Collins says that the USDA has been a great partner to the poultry industry in Georgia in preparing for a potential outbreak of avian influenza.

However, he says he is urging them to consider providing additional flexibility to Georgia’s poultry industry to ensure that they can quickly depopulate an infected house should it become necessary.

According to Collins, it is critical that rapid response measures are available when it is imperative that the flock be depopulated as quickly as possible to prevent the spread of the disease to other flocks.

Collins says he would like to know if the USDA has considered establishing ventilation shutdown as a standard depopulation method in the event of an outbreak, adding that the agency has acknowledged ventilation shutdown as a viable method to depopulate an infected flock and has even said that “it could save the lives of thousands of birds by reducing the risk of disease spread.”

The Hall County Republican says that ventilation shutdown requires no equipment, and can be implemented in a matter of minutes.

Collins explains that right now, the USDA approves ventilation shutdown for use on a case-by-case basis, but during an outbreak of such a serious disease, hours matter.

He says that if those on the ground had the authority to make the call on which method is best in their situation, an outbreak could be contained.

According to information in Collins’ letter, earlier this year the United States experienced the worst animal disease outbreak in its history as the outbreak of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) led to deaths of more than 48 million birds, with confirmed cases in 21 states.

Collins says the last outbreak devastated the businesses hit by the disease and cost taxpayers an estimated $950 million.